How Murder Book Turns Interrogation Into Gameplay

A step-by-step look at Murder Book's interrogation loop, from reading behaviour to choosing how to press a suspect.

By Murder Book Editorial TeamPublished by Gungrounds, the studio making Murder BookPublished 16 September 2026Updated 16 September 2026

Murder Book turns interrogation into gameplay by making the conversation itself the puzzle. Instead of searching a crime scene, you sit across from one suspect and work through their account. You watch for behaviours such as avoidance, fabrication or emotional leakage, which are documented in an in-game casebook. You pin statements that contradict each other to an evidence board, choose how to press the suspect, and reach a conclusion that depends on what you noticed. Each case is a short, branching story designed to take about 5–10 minutes. This Case File walks through each step as shown in Murder Book's published development materials.

Key takeaways

The whole case takes place in the interrogation, so conversation is the main mechanic.
An in-game casebook explains the suspect behaviours players look for.
An evidence board lets players connect statements that do not fit together.
Players choose interrogation approaches such as Build Trust, Bluffing, Baiting or Confrontation.
Cases branch toward different endings, with achievements and completion tracking.

What does a case look like in Murder Book?

A Murder Book case starts from a case file. Development screenshots show a case-select screen listing cases with their results and a completion bar, which suggests each case can be revisited to uncover more of its story. Once a case is open, the player is in the interrogation room with a single suspect under a spotlight.

The setting is deliberately small. There is no map to explore and no inventory to manage. Everything you need comes from what the suspect says and how they say it.

How does Murder Book use suspect behaviour?

Murder Book's press materials describe gameplay built around "real interrogation behaviors: Fabrication, Avoidance, Narrative Gaps, Emotional Leakage, and more." Development screenshots show a casebook screen that lists and explains behaviours such as:

Stonewalling
Stress Response
Avoidance
Acting Emotion
Non-Response
Submissive Gesture
Fabrication
Emotional Fading

The casebook entries explain what each behaviour looks like and why it might matter. The "Acting Emotion" entry, for example, describes a suspect acting an emotion at appropriate moments but failing to maintain it consistently. It links that to cognitive load theory: keeping up a lie or a performed emotion takes mental effort.

That framing matters. Real-world research does not support the idea that any single behaviour proves someone is lying, and the same cue can have innocent explanations. In Murder Book, behaviour is a reason to look more closely at part of a story, not a verdict on its own.

How does the evidence board work?

The evidence board is where observations become arguments. Development screenshots show suspect statements pinned to a board and linked together. One example connects "I NEVER met her!" and "I had no idea" to a fabricated description of a gun.

This is the core deduction step. A single suspicious statement is only a hunch. Two statements that cannot both be true are something you can use. The board gives players a place to hold those connections and build toward a conclusion.

How do you choose an interrogation technique?

Noticing a contradiction is only half of an interrogation. The other half is deciding what to do about it. Development screenshots show a technique menu with six approaches:

Technique	What it suggests
Build Trust	Creating an environment where the suspect feels secure enough to talk openly
Futility	Showing the suspect that continuing a story is pointless
Bluffing	Implying you know more than you do
Baiting	Inviting the suspect to commit to a detail
Demonstration	Presenting something that challenges their account
Confrontation	Directly challenging the suspect with a contradiction

Only the Build Trust description above is taken from the in-game text. The other rows are plain-language summaries of the technique names.

The choice changes the conversation. A suspect who might open up under a patient approach could shut down when confronted, and the reverse can also be true. That turns each interrogation into a series of judgement calls rather than a checklist.

Does every case have one correct ending?

No. Development screenshots show a branch map for a case, with an introduction splitting into many paths, achievement endings and a completion percentage. What you notice, which statements you connect and how you press the suspect all influence where the case ends.

Branching also changes how you think about a verdict. The case-select screen in development materials shows a result of "not guilty". An interrogation game does not have to assume that every suspect is hiding the crime. Sometimes the right conclusion is that the story holds up.

Why build a detective game around interrogation?

Interrogation is one of the most dramatic parts of crime fiction, but in many games it is a short scene between the "real" gameplay. Murder Book makes it the whole game. That creates a different kind of challenge:

Attention replaces reflexes. The skill being tested is listening and noticing.
Every detail is potentially meaningful. A throwaway line early in a conversation can matter later.
Uncertainty is part of the design. Behaviour can suggest something without proving it, so players weigh evidence instead of following a single right path.

It also suits short sessions. A single interrogation is naturally compact, which is how Murder Book fits a complete case into about 5–10 minutes. See Why Murder Book Cases Are Designed for 5–10-Minute Sessions.

Where can you play Murder Book?

Murder Book is in development for PC (Steam) and mobile, with release currently planned for the end of Q2 2027. For the latest confirmed details, see the Murder Book release and development FAQ. For an overview of the game, start with What Is Murder Book?